As small businesses look ahead to 2011, the majority of those surveyed said their greatest concern is the nation’s economic outlook (22%), while 21% said taxes were their biggest worry. Seventeen percent (17%) of the respondents said the economic outlook in their own community was their top concern, while 15% indicated healthcare gives them the most angst. Labor costs, a conventional concern for small business owners, was the least of their worries and cited by only 2% of the respondents as their greatest concern.
“Our survey is truly the voice of small businesses and provides a clear view of their concerns and their new optimism,” said Pamela Springer, president and CEO of Manta Media Inc. “The majority of our respondents–70%–are involved in small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, while 20% are involved with businesses that have between 10 and 50 employees. These are the small businesses that run our country and their voice resonated at the polls.”